


small comfort

by wrennette



Series: sustained effort toward an ideal [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Blanket Permission, Gen, do not copy to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:08:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26794168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrennette/pseuds/wrennette
Summary: On the eve of war, the Jedi crafting circle gathers, to create a few small comforts to carry into the coming dark.
Series: sustained effort toward an ideal [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961518
Comments: 18
Kudos: 152





	small comfort

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thinking a lot about art and community recently, and this spilled out. I've always imagined Jocasta Nu and Plo Koon did the beautiful embroidery on their garments themselves, and in a community the size of the Jedi, there just has to be a community crafting group that meets periodically to keep one another company as they sew or knit or weave.

Jocasta smiled thinly as the rest of the crafting circle filtered into the room. There were quite a few faces missing, and some would never return. Her heart ached still at the thought of so many dead on the Geonosian sands. As Head Archivist, she had claimed the grim duty of attending to all of the requisite certifications and database updates, wishing to shield the other archivists as much as she could. Some of those lost had only been Padawans, cut down before they'd even reached the primes of their lives. 

"Proposal for a group project," Jocasta said, when she thought most of them had arrived, and a quiet murmuring swept through the gathered Jedi. Those who had already picked up the projects set them back down as their attention settled on her. "We cannot refuse the call to war, not without allowing the 'troopers to be given officers who - well, pardon the narrowness of the phrase, but it fits, given those who have already stepped forward to accept commissions in the 'Fleet - are not the most humane of beings. I was thinking we might do something nice for the clones - they've lost their siblings as well, and I doubt a little comfort would hurt." 

Usually they worked on individual projects. Some, like Shaak and Luminara, wove beautiful tapestries in the artistic traditions of their homeworlds. Plo often did Dorin embroidery. Others concentrated on soft things for the creches and Healing Halls, blankets and bed jackets and hats and booties. Some quilted hangings or bedspreads, or tatted delicate lace. 

"A wise idea," Plo said with a dip of his head, smoothing his hands over the cloak he was decorating. "I had wondered if the commander I'm assigned might like something - small to start with - from what young Obi-Wan reported on their living and training circumstances, it's likely they haven't had much kindness yet in their short lives, and I wouldn't want to overwhelm them." 

Jocasta dipped her head. She'd anticipated Plo would be on board. He was a kind soul, and many of his beautiful embroideries were given away as gifts.

"What type of project were you thinking?" Shaak asked from where she sat at one of the floor looms, one elegant hand resting on the sturdy wooden frame she and Luminara had just finished assembling.

"Like Plo said, something small, or something practical, so they're more inclined to accept. I thought maybe throw blankets - those big ships will be terribly cold and barren, especially at first, and for those still on Kamino too," Jocasta said, "socks and hats and scarves, anything really." Shaak smiled broadly. 

"Yes, I believe that would be quite welcome," Shaak agreed. The others nodded and murmured their approval. Jocasta smiled. 

"It will be a very large project," Jocasta warned, "and I wouldn't want anyone to feel obliged." They waved her off, setting aside personal projects and bringing out new materials. Jocasta selected a sunny yellow yarn that she often used to knit blankets and hats and booties for the creche, and selected the appropriate needles. She cast on quickly, and felt the warm glow of industry as the others began similar projects. 

Shaak and Luminara assembled the second floor loom, then looped out their warp, chatting quietly. Before long, Luminara began to sing to keep time. Tonight, she led with a lilting tune in Mirialan. Jocasta wasn't completely fluent in the language, but the steady rhythm of the song indicated a traditional chant of some sort. By the time she finished her song, the new warp was wound in place, and Shaak was selecting wool to weave with, and preparing her first shuttle. 

Stass sang out a Tholothian rowing tune when Luminara's song finished, her dark hands looping and pulling in time as she crocheted a vivid purple square. Most of the songs they broke into at crafting circle were rhythmic, working songs to help them keep their stitches steady and tension even, the toss of the shuttles smooth. The pedals of the looms shifted the warp in time, thumping to the beat. Adi joined in with Stass, a high descant that soared over the rhythmic melody as her fingers flashed in almost perfect unison with Stass', a blue square of crochet that would harmonize with Stass' violet.

There was no set order of who sang and when. They simply let the Force move them. Sometimes music was set aside for gossip, but when they were working for a common goal like this, singing just felt right. Their contentment as they worked settled into their creations, imbuing them with positive emanations in the Force. 

Yarael picked up singing next, his small, thin voice calling out in ancient Dai Bendu as he worked his spinning wheel, plying two shades of red homespun together. They all sang the response in turn, and joy bubbled up through contentment. Yarael was the best at leading this sort of call and response song - the others tended to speed up in their enthusiasm, and that only ended in tangled yarn and frustration. Yarael had an impeccable internal metronome, and never let them pull ahead.

At the end of the Dai Bendu call and response, Shaak trilled happily, then immediately sang out in chirping Togruti. This one Jocasta knew well, for it was a favourite when she was an Initiate, a teaching song that named all the animals of Shili. Jocasta's Togruti wasn't very good, but she could harmonize on some of the whistles, and so she did. Shaak glanced over, grinning broadly enough to show her fangs as she continued the song, deft hands tossing the shuttle in time. There were enough repeats that by the time Shaak finished, a few of the others had picked up the pattern of the whistles too, and joined in.

The animal naming song reminded Jocasta of one that Master Tera had taught them in the creche, a Cosian song listing birds and their calls. When Shaak finished, Jocasta let her own voice rise. She wasn't a particularly gifted singer, her voice thin and a bit reedy, but skill wasn't required to keep a beat and mind her stitches, and so she sang, and Plo knew the song too, so he joined in, his voice hissing through his respirator as he sang along.

Ki-Adi slipped in late, ducking his head to greet Stass and Adi. They quietly told him of the new project, and he nodded solemnly, then dug through his work bag until he produced his drop-spindle and a hank of undyed roving. The songs passed from one singer to the next, and Ki-Adi paced the perimeter of the room, the spindle rising and falling from his hands as he spun the soft wool into lengths of yarn. 

When Ki-Adi sang, it was, like many of the tunes they chose, one from his homeworld. The song was a mix of Cerean and Basic, a story-song of daily life on a farm, rising early in the morning to tend the fields, and resting well at the end of a long day of honest work. The parts in Basic were easily picked up by the others, and so they joined Ki-Adi on the chorus as he walked and spun and sang.

By the unspoken traditions of crafting circle, when each of them had led a song, the work stopped for a tea break and check in. Jocasta had managed a good length of knitting, in a simple seed stitch. Luminara and Shaak rose from their seats and measured the sturdy woolens that were stretched across their looms - Shaak won their quiet contest by a few centimetres, and so Luminara would have to loop out the warps next time too. Stass and Adi had a small pile of crocheted squares stacked between them. Plo had pieced together a multitude of neutral toned scraps donated by the quartermasters, and still had a ways to go before he reached blanket-sized. Still, they'd all made good progress. 

Tea was shared around, and quiet conversation for a time. Before too long, Yarael bowed out, headed off to bed, and Jocasta checked the chrono. Adi and Plo, who also sat on the High Council, excused themselves after a second cup of tea, and gradually the circle broke up. Luminara and Shaak carefully eased the warp and fabric rods from the looms, then broke the looms down and put them away. The fabric would need finishing, but likely each of them had woven a blanket's worth or so in the past few hours - they were fast, skilled weavers, especially for a plain weave like this. 

Jocasta packed up her own things as well, and said good night to the others. The grief of so many lost hadn't faded, but a creative goal always helped ease away her pain and worry. She would mourn their fallen siblings, as she knew the others would. But making something, even something small, created a bit of comfort and positivity, and that was no small thing, as they stood at the precipice of war.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm wrennette @ tumblr, pillowfort, and dreamwidth too, feel free to come say hi!


End file.
